US Stock Futures Suggest Slow Start After A Solid Performance Last Week Followed By A Long Weekend; Earnings Back In Focus

Traders stand outside the New York Stock Exchange prior to the opening bell on Oct. 31, 2012.
Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Coming back from a long weekend, which was preceded by a stellar performance during the previous week, stocks look set for a hesitant start Tuesday as quarterly earnings are back in focus. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes all rose more than 2 percent.

On Tuesday, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.01 percent and futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.1 percent while those on the Nasdaq were also down 0.1 percent. On Friday, the Dow rose 0.79 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.48 percent while the Nasdaq inched up 0.08 percent.

On the earnings front, The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO), Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) and Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) are among those scheduled to declare quarterly earnings before markets open. Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) is slated to announce earnings after markets close. In economic data, the NAHB's housing market index for February is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. EST.

In Europe, stocks were weak with the Stoxx Europe 600 index trading down 0.47 percent while the FTSE 100 was down 0.02 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 was down 0.19 percent and France's CAC-40 was down 0.5 percent.

In Asia, markets were mixed with Japan’s Nikkei-225 racing to close up 3.13 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.18 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.23 percent while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.77 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.03 percent, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.83 percent.